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Researchers from the UMU propose the implementation of drainage catchment systems to increase the availability of water resources in the Region (10/05/2018)

Future projections on climate change in which a slight decrease in precipitation is predicted and a change in the annual distribution of rainfall, together with the increase in the exploitation of water resources by agricultural and tourism activities, make necessary the improvement and conditioning of drainage systems to reuse runoff water in the Region of Murcia.

This has been confirmed by a study published in the Swiss scientific journal Water, and carried out by a group of researchers from the University of Murcia and Alicante composed of Ramón García Marín, expert in Human Geography, and predoctoral researchers Gregorio Castejón Porcel, David Espín Sánchez, Víctor Ruiz Álvarez and Daniel Moreno Muñoz.

The research has analyzed the hydraulic heritage that during these centuries has allowed the use of rainwater.

These traditional techniques have been lost and show a state of degradation due to their disuse as a result of the arrival of the waters of the Tajo-Segura transfer and of innovations for the extraction of groundwater, which have allowed to obtain flows at great depths.

The document also analyzes the runoff generated in ramblas of the Campo de Cartagena during the torrential rains of 2012 and 2016. "These episodes of high intensity generated a series of flows that went to the Mar Menor and, of these, a considerable part could have been used to increase the supply of water resources ", says Ramón García Marín, one of the signatories of the article.

The article assures that the current situation of exploitation of waters in the region by agriculture and tourism is triggering socioenvironmental consequences of great concern.

These include soil loss, overexploitation of aquifers, social conflicts due to external transfers of water resources, increased risk of flooding and degradation of the Mar Menor.

"We want to raise awareness among the authorities that, by taking advantage of runoff water from the wadis, not only would an additional volume of water be used that could be used, but that further degradation of the Mar Menor could be avoided, the loss of soil would be limited , the intensive exploitation of the aquifers and the number of pollutants that are discharged, "explains Gregorio Castejón Porcel, coordinator of the research work and predoctoral fellow of the University of Alicante.

The study exposes the existing potential use of runoff water in the Campo de Cartagena, noting, among other proposals, the use of storm tanks not only as mere laminators of avenues, intended only to capture and retain the water that pours into the water. sea, but also its possible use as receptacles for the collection and use of these waters for other multiple needs, an issue that has surprisingly not been considered, since none of the current facilities of this type are prepared for this function.

"The traditional techniques of catchment runoff, such as reservoirs and bypasses, adapted to new times with not very expensive investments, could allow the use of considerable volumes of water," confirms Castejón Porcel.

Therefore, the article concludes that it is necessary to change the strategy and model of exploitation of water resources in the current economic system of agriculture and tourism, taking into account that the number of tourists and the number of farms will not decrease and that, as a consequence, water resources will be increasingly demanded.

Source: Universidad de Murcia

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